Chloe Bidwell was 18. She was a joiner apprentice on a renovation site in Bangor. She was working alone.
Twenty-eight wooden boards had been stacked vertically against a wall. Unsecured. No procedure for storing them. No risk assessment that had identified the hazard. Nobody checked on her.
When she didn't come home and didn't respond to messages, she was found at the site. The boards had fallen on her. The injuries were fatal.
This week, Varcity Living Limited was fined £50,000, and director David Horrocks was handed a 26-week suspended prison sentence.
Three Failures That Killed Chloe
The HSE investigation identified three specific failures:
No lone working policy. Chloe was left to work alone at the property with no procedure in place to confirm she was safe, no check-in system, and no one monitoring her return.
No safe storage procedure for the materials. Twenty-eight boards — large, potentially weighing up to 30kg each — were stacked vertically against a wall without any securing. HSE guidance is clear: boards must be stored horizontally on a level surface and must never be stacked on edge without adequate support.
No adequate supervision of a young apprentice. An 18-year-old at the start of her career, working alone on a building site, with no meaningful oversight from her employer.
None of those are complicated requirements. They're basics. The kind of thing that takes an afternoon to put in place.
What Chloe's Family Said
Her mother, Clare Stephenson-Brown, speaking on behalf of the family, said:
"We hope employers look beyond compliance and truly consider the responsibility they hold for the lives in their care. Safety must be meaningful in practice, ensuring risks are properly managed, lone working is safe, and that everyone who goes to work returns home."
That statement should sit with every employer who reads it.
What This Means for Your Business
If you employ apprentices — especially young people new to a trade — please ask yourself these questions honestly:
- Do you have a written lone working procedure?
- Does your team actually know about it?
- Is someone checking in on lone workers during and after their task?
- Have your materials storage arrangements been assessed as a specific hazard?
Not whether you think you have these things in place. Whether they genuinely exist, are documented, and are being followed.
Because Chloe went to work on 20 December 2023 and didn't come home. Her employer had no real answer for why.
The Legal Outcome
At Llandudno Magistrates' Court on 9 July 2026:
- Varcity Living Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Fined £50,000 plus £10,080 in costs.
- David Horrocks (director) pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years, plus £7,886 in costs.
If you need help putting a lone working procedure or apprentice supervision framework in place, SafeCompli can help. Visit www.safecompli.co.uk or try RiskCompli free — no card required.